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Columbian Exchange/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby An animation shows a flying saucer in outer space moving toward Earth. Tim and Moby are eating in their kitchen when an alien appears behind Moby. ALIEN: Beep. Moby jumps up startled as the alien points to him. TIM: Whoa! Space alien! Moby offers his spoon to the alien. MOBY: Beep. The alien hands Moby a basket filled with strange objects. ALIEN: Beep. TIM: Hey, I think he's friendly. As the alien hugs Moby, the basket drops onto the table. A ray shoots out of the basket, in front of Tim's face. Tim reads a letter projected on the ray. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, How did the Columbian Exchange affect life in the Americans and around the world? From, Shanna. That's a great question, and historians are still working out the answers! An image shows a map of North and South America. TIM: Here's what we know: Before Christopher Columbus's arrival in 1492, there were anywhere between fifty and one hundred million people living in the Americas. Figures representing the population of the Americas appear all over the map. TIM: These pre-Columbian civilizations were diverse and highly complex. In the South, there were cities whose size and architecture rivaled the great European capitals. Side by side images show aerial views of a European and a South American city. TIM: In the North, some people enjoyed more political freedom than in Europe's most democratic nations. Side by side images show a Native American leader in his community and a European king in his court. TIM: But after Columbus's voyage, everything began to change. An animation shows Columbus's ships sailing to the Americas. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Within a few hundred years, Europeans laid claim to the Americas, and much of the rest of the world. Native populations shrank to a tiny fraction of their original size. The map shows the native people disappearing from the Americas. TIM: Those who were left found themselves greatly outnumbered, living in a land they no longer controlled. An animation shows unhappy native people. British flags are flying in the background. TIM: How did such advanced, populous societies lose so much, so quickly? And how did Europe rise to global dominance within such a short period? MOBY: Beep. TIM: According to many historians, the answers to both questions can be found in the Columbian Exchange. MOBY: Beep. TIM: That was the centuries-long swap of cultures, people, ideas, plants, animals, and even diseases that began in 1492. Arrows appear between Europe and the Americas pointing in both directions, indicating the exchange between Europe and the Americas. Images symbolize the interchange of culture, food, ideas, and diseases. TIM: Before that date, Europe and the Americas might as well have been on different planets, thanks to the vast ocean separating them. The alien turns on the faucet in the kitchen sink and water splashes him in the face. TIM: But suddenly, there were ships traveling back and forth, carrying people, crops, and livestock to places they had never been before. An animation shows ships traveling between Europe and the Americas. TIM: Life changed almost immediately for the native people, as countries like Spain, Portugal, England, and France quickly set up colonies throughout the New World. A map shows flags of different European nations popping up across the Americas. MOBY: Beep? TIM: That's true: the Europeans had guns, horses, and advanced military tactics. An image shows European soldiers armed with swords and guns chasing and killing native people. TIM: But that doesn't explain how they were able to take over so quickly. As it turns out, their deadliest weapons were microscopic. Diseases like smallpox, the flu, malaria, and yellow fever were carried over the ocean by their European hosts. An image shows a European sailing ship with a biohazard symbol over it. Additional images illustrate the diseases Tim names. TIM: Native people had no natural defenses against these new germs. They got sick by the millions in what is now called the Great Dying. Smallpox was especially devastating, wiping out entire civilizations. An image shows native people who have died from smallpox. The alien coughs in Tim’s kitchen. TIM: Wherever contact was made, native people died off, making it that much easier for Europeans to gain a foothold. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah, and from Mexico to South America, many natives were enslaved and forced to mine for gold and silver. An image shows what Tim describes. TIM: The Spanish and Portuguese sent these metals by the boatload back to Europe. An animation shows an explorer presenting a chest of gold to a smiling European king. TIM: But they also brought back edible treasures. Europeans had never seen crops like potatoes, corn, and cassava before. An image shows the explorer opening a chest filled with the foods Tim mentions. TIM: These high-energy foods grew well in tough conditions, helping people survive famines and live longer. The alien drops a glass mug into a blender and turns it on. Tim and Moby look on as the glass is ground up in the blender. TIM: As a result, populations in Europe and Africa swelled at the same time that they were plummeting in the Americas. An animation illustrates the rapid population growth on these continents. TIM: This helped fuel the migration of millions of people to the new world. An animation shows immigrants from Europe getting on ships and sailing to the Americas. TIM: Meanwhile, newly discovered cash crops like tobacco, vanilla, and cocoa enriched Europe even more. Images show the crops Tim lists. A pot of gold drops onto a map of Europe. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Oh no, stuff moved in the other direction, too. Religion was one of the first exports to the new world. Missionaries converted thousands of native people to Christianity, occasionally by force. An image shows priests converting native people to Christianity while European soldiers with weapons look on. TIM: But since it was illegal to enslave Christians, Native Americans often converted on their own, just to keep themselves free. MOBY: Beep. TIM: That's true: Native Americans didn't just passively react to the changes going on all around them. In North America, the Plains Indians took advantage of European horses, radically altering their own culture. An image shows Native Americans riding horses. TIM: That kind of adaptation was repeated throughout the Americas, with metal cookware, guns, and wheeled vehicles. The alien drinks a bottle of liquid soap and burps bubbles. TIM: Native people also benefitted from newly introduced crops, like wheat. An image shows a Native American picking wheat. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Oh yeah, the Europeans brought tons of new crops to the Americas, including wheat, rice, oranges, bananas, apples, and coffee. Images show the crops as Tim names them. TIM: The Caribbean islands had ideal growing conditions for sugarcane, a hugely profitable cash crop. A map shows the Caribbean islands, and a picture of sugarcane. TIM: This was the beginning of the world's ongoing obsession with sugar. An image shows European men eager to eat a layer cake and a dessert topped with whipped cream. TIM: But besides the health effects, there was an ugly side to the sugar trade: like most cash crops, it relied on slave labor. An image shows a European slave master with a whip forcing native people to plant crops. TIM: Thousands of Indians worked and died in the cruelest conditions. When their populations declined, Africans were brought in as replacement workers. A split image shows shackled African slaves on a ship, and slaves carrying sugar cane in a field. TIM: This was the beginning of the Atlantic slave trade, in which more than twelve million Africans were sold into slavery. Moby crosses his arms and looks unhappy. MOBY: Beep. TIM: You're right: in many ways, it is a terrible history, and it's natural to get sad or even angry when you hear about it. But it's important to remember that this story isn't over. The Columbian Exchange permanently connected the two hemispheres through trade. An animation shows the Eastern and Western hemispheres joining together like two pieces of a puzzle. TIM: Today, we benefit more than ever from these trade lines. Raw materials and finished products are whisked around the world in every direction, connecting people on every continent. An image shows cargo ships sailing between the two hemispheres. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Right, that's a key point, too: Native Americans didn't die out. Millions of people with Indian ancestry still live among us. Images of two people of Indian ancestry are shown on a map of the Americas. TIM: Of these, the majority have mixed ethnicities, with ancestors from Europe, Africa, or both. Images of a man from Europe and a man from Africa are added to the map. TIM: Many of them identify with multiple cultures and are proud of their mixed heritage. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah, maybe we can learn from their example. Even if the history of the Columbian Exchange is troubling, it's part of who we are. Our music, foods, languages, even our attitudes about the world, all have some roots in this blending of worlds. The alien picks up a cutting bag and beams itself out of the kitchen. ALIEN: Beep. Tim’s kitchen is a mess. There is a loose cabinet door, broken blender, cracks in the wall, spilled food, empty cans, and water spurting from the sink. TIM: Aw, man. How are we gonna clean all this... Moby waves bye to Tim and also beams himself out of the kitchen. TIM: ...up? Well, darn. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Social Studies Transcripts